CityNerd | Traffic Engineers Gone Wild: Why Interchanges and Intersections are Getting Worse, Not Better @CityNerd | Uploaded October 2022 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
In a parallel universe, traffic engineering in the US has turned a corner, and we're starting to see street designs that prioritize walking, biking, and transit over a singular focus on the personal motor vehicle. And that universe exists in select, small pockets of the US -- but most places, traffic engineers are discovering ever more convoluted ways to save a few seconds of vehicle delay at the expense of having a livable urban environment. We're talking about intersections and interchanges you might design on Cities Skylines as a cruel joke -- but the joke is unfortunately all too real!
Today we're going on a field trip to find the most egregious examples of traffic engineering gone off the rails. We'll look at "innovative" interchange designs like the Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI), the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), and the Contraflow Left. We'll also dive into signalized intersections, including the Michigan Left, the Displaced Left, and an intersection treatment so absurdly misguided it actually hasn't been implemented anywhere (YET) -- the Bowtie.
Be forewarned -- every single treatment here simply works "better" if there aren't any pesky pedestrians or bikes, and that leads to some pretty shocking implementations. Hope you enjoy!
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RSVP for TEDx Countdown event at Ferguson's in Las Vegas' East Downtown district: eventbrite.com/e/tedxfremonteastdistrict-presents-succor-the-southwest-a-countdown-event-registration-397981492357.
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Patreon - a way to directly support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far.
patreon.com/CityNerd
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Previous CityNerd Videos Referenced:
- 10 Most Ginormous Freeway Interchanges In the US: youtu.be/4rgH0MUaHx8
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Resources:
- virginiadot.org/info/innovative_intersections_and_interchanges/Bowtie.asp
- files.ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/269475-1/attachment/yzla0xxIqmcGRTfnKgCvsNoasXXfgxE8KdpMMGTDdSfon456MwRdFWU1LvyTkZ3vMSEgjLjdM0gnHalC0
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Images
- Minnesota Freeway archival photo efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Record/2766303
- youtube.com/user/vdotweb/videos
- Green Valley Ranch By Brian Brake - flickr.com/photos/bjbrake/59433402/, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113412298
- SPUI, Meridian, ID (Thumbnail) By MeridianIdaho - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51946110
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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Inquiries: nerd4cities@gmail.com
In a parallel universe, traffic engineering in the US has turned a corner, and we're starting to see street designs that prioritize walking, biking, and transit over a singular focus on the personal motor vehicle. And that universe exists in select, small pockets of the US -- but most places, traffic engineers are discovering ever more convoluted ways to save a few seconds of vehicle delay at the expense of having a livable urban environment. We're talking about intersections and interchanges you might design on Cities Skylines as a cruel joke -- but the joke is unfortunately all too real!
Today we're going on a field trip to find the most egregious examples of traffic engineering gone off the rails. We'll look at "innovative" interchange designs like the Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI), the Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI), and the Contraflow Left. We'll also dive into signalized intersections, including the Michigan Left, the Displaced Left, and an intersection treatment so absurdly misguided it actually hasn't been implemented anywhere (YET) -- the Bowtie.
Be forewarned -- every single treatment here simply works "better" if there aren't any pesky pedestrians or bikes, and that leads to some pretty shocking implementations. Hope you enjoy!
----------
RSVP for TEDx Countdown event at Ferguson's in Las Vegas' East Downtown district: eventbrite.com/e/tedxfremonteastdistrict-presents-succor-the-southwest-a-countdown-event-registration-397981492357.
----------
Patreon - a way to directly support continuing CityNerd output! Thanks to all who have signed up so far.
patreon.com/CityNerd
----------
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
----------
Previous CityNerd Videos Referenced:
- 10 Most Ginormous Freeway Interchanges In the US: youtu.be/4rgH0MUaHx8
----------
Resources:
- virginiadot.org/info/innovative_intersections_and_interchanges/Bowtie.asp
- files.ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/269475-1/attachment/yzla0xxIqmcGRTfnKgCvsNoasXXfgxE8KdpMMGTDdSfon456MwRdFWU1LvyTkZ3vMSEgjLjdM0gnHalC0
----------
Images
- Minnesota Freeway archival photo efiles.portlandoregon.gov/Record/2766303
- youtube.com/user/vdotweb/videos
- Green Valley Ranch By Brian Brake - flickr.com/photos/bjbrake/59433402/, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113412298
- SPUI, Meridian, ID (Thumbnail) By MeridianIdaho - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51946110
----------
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
----------
Inquiries: nerd4cities@gmail.com
